Site Navigation Guide for “Autumn Refreshing”
Several people have asked about the navigation of the site and the study. Here are some quick links to the lessons for Autumn Refreshing. I will update this post each week when we add a lesson. This will give you a little structure of the site, and for the thought behind the lessons. Hope this helps.
The idea for the lessons actually came while I was walking atop the city wall in Dubrovnik, Croatia on our recent excursion to the Mediterranean. Dubrovnik provided that backdrop for many of the scenes in the filming of HBO’s acclaimed hit, “Game of Thrones.” High above the city, even during the first week of October, was swelteringly hot. Visitors to the Mediterranean are warned of the dangers of heat exhaustion during the summer. Cooler relief is a scarce commodity until the rains begin in the autumn.
It struck me that the same thing happens to us when we wander through the spiritual deserts of our lives. The death of a loved one. The loss of a job. A diagnosis of cancer. Life throws its most blazing heat at us and we long for relief. We long for the refreshing rains of autumn that God always provides. The photos on this post come to us via the heat of Dubrovnik.
Each series will start with an introduction to the topic or lessons. This material is really just for the teacher. Of course, if you are working through the lessons as an individual, you are welcome to glean through this section. It should provide a good background and setting for the lessons. This introduction will always carry the name of the series of lessons. This study is called Autumn Refreshing.
Site navigation
You get to the Autumn Refreshing page on the site by clicking the link embedded in the title of the lesson. Any of the studies will be accessible from a blog post on the home page. You can also reach it by using the menu on the three bar menu on the home page. The introduction provides a general context for the lessons. There are also links to six different versions of the text of the Scripture that is being used in the study. For Autumn Refreshing the text is Psalm 84.
Clicking on the menu bars on this page will provide a brief explanation of the structure of the webpages. You will see an explanation of the content of the menus. In addition, the bottom of the menu has links to the other lessons in the series.
The first lesson in the series is called “Autumn Rain.”
At the top of the menu is a Bible Verse of the Day. The verse changes every day – so if you access the page five times during the week, you will see 
a different verse each day. In addition, there are verses for each day during the week that relate to the lesson, along with a brief devotional thought. Eventually the little devotional thought will change every day also.
Convenience
What I like about this section is the convenience. There are some days that we just don’t have lots of time to sit down and study the Bible. But somehow, we still want a little something to encourage us, to put perspective on our day. In less that a minute, you can read a verse that is encouraging for you. The entire text of that verse of Scripture is printed at the top of the menu. You can also pick a second verse that will apply directly to the theme of the week’s lessons.
Two other items will soon be available on this menu. If you want some suggested readings or other resources for the month’s lessons, there will be links here to several sources. These resources will appear on the menu of every individual lesson. Eventually, we would like to embed a video here introducing you to the lesson.
Help for small groups
At the bottom of this menu are two items that will be helpful if you choose to use the lesson with a small group or Bible class. The menu will house a one page PDF file of the lesson’s highlights. 
You can click, view and print the lesson handout. The handout would be ideal to pass out to your group members. Make as many copies as you need. While the handout will not provide all of the content information that is housed on the site, it will give your group members something to help them remember the lesson. The menu also will have a handful of discussion questions that you can use. The questions are printed right on the menu.
One final thing to note. At the bottom of each lesson page, there is a place for you to leave questions or comments. You may ask any question that you like about the Scripture or lesson material. We can also explore questions that touch upon the topic of our discussion. This is your time to interact with the author and the other Bible study community members. I encourage you to add to our knowledge by sharing your thoughts and ideas. Let’s truly make this a learning community.
There you have it. You have progressed through the sections of a lesson. It is my hope that this site can be a source of your own personal study, and one that you can lead and share with others.
Blessings,
Tom
